Synopsis

Cersei continues to obliviously move from one folly to the next. Angered by Tommen's brazen demand to sit on the Iron Throne and at council, she realizes that Margaery put him up to this. Cersei refuses to give her power up to anyone, at least until Tommen comes of age.

Next, she sends away the Iron Bank's envoy Noho Dimittis after telling him there will be no payment until the rebellion is ended. She receives word from Pycelle that Lord Manderly had Ser Davos beheaded, and the Freys confirmed this. Later, she speaks with Osmund Kettleblack about his younger brother's failed efforts to bed Margaery. Osmund swears that the young queen likes him, but that they are never alone. The Kingsguard names some of those always around her, including the male singers she prefers to entertain her and her companions.

When Cersei crosses the yard and finds Tommen riding at the quintain, she is infuriated. Once again, this was Margaery's idea, and while all those gathered are cheering the young king's jousting ability, Cersei blunders by saying, "One day you shall rule the lists, as your father did." Margaery astutely catches this and asks what tourneys King Robert had won. The Queen Regent evades this by mentioning Robert's deeds at the Trident. She then berates Loras for teaching Tommen how to ride, but the Kingsguard reminds her that there has been no master-at-arms at the Red Keep since Aron Santagar was killed. Walking back to her solar, she considers sending for another Dornish master-at-arms, just to irk the Tyrells.

In her solar, Qyburn informs her that Prince Doran has imprisoned Daemon Sand for demanding the release of the Sand Snakes, and that Sylva Santagar has been hastily married to the elderly Eldon Estermont. He also tells her that both Daemon Sand and Sylva are close friends of Doran's daughter Arianne. Cersei could not care less, but she is interested to hear of a treasonous puppet show. She commands Qyburn to have the four puppeteers put to death, but Qyburn wants the women for his "experiments". Cersei has already given him Senelle, but he tells her she didn't last. The Queen Regent recalls her screaming in the darkness when she was down in the black cells, but grants Qyburn his test subjects. Later, as she is bathing in preparation for dinner, Jaime arrives with Tommen, who is demanding to see her. The boy king wants his horse tomorrow so that Loras can continue training him, but his mother will have none of it. Jaime mocks her for suggesting that Ser Osmund is thrice the knight Ser Loras is, but Cersei finally convinces her son to wait for a new master-at-arms to be named.

As she gets dressed, Cersei recalls her fit of rage when her washerwoman shrunk several of her gowns; but it is obvious she is unaware that she is actually gaining weight from all the alcohol. Her guests for dinner are Falyse Stokeworth and her husband, Balman Byrch. It is revealed that Tanda Stokeworth has been thrown from her horse and fractured her hip, but Cersei thinks to herself that Tanda will not recover from the wound at her age. Falyse says she was refused hospitality by the ward of Lord Gyles Rosby and that she encountered ruffians on the road. Cersei deftly convinces Falyse and Balman that she fears Bronn is either hiding Tyrion or gathering swords for him, and may mean to try and kill Tommen. They assure her that it was solely Bronn's responsibility for naming Lollys's bastard son "Tyrion", but Balman gets the hint that Cersei would like to see the ex-sellsword disposed of, and tells her not to worry any further.

On her way to bed, Cersei peeks in on Tommen and sees three kittens in bed with him. Meryn Trant informs her that Margaery gave them to him. That night, Cersei thinks of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, and how King Aerys blocked their betrothal out of spite. When she was 10, her father and her aunt Genna promised she would be betrothed to Rhaegar after the tourney for King Aerys II in Lannisport. She was so happy that she agreed to visit the witch Maggy the Frog with her friends. They laughed at her prophesies, but that night King Aerys mocked Lord Tywin for thinking he would give his son's hand to his servant Tywin's daughter. And after that, Maggy's predictions started to come true, one after another.